Scarpa Ribelle Run Review - Black Sheep Adventure Sports

Review: Scarpa Ribelle Run

Scarpa continues to put their mark on the trail shoe scene with this fantastic addition to their shoe line. A Full TPU Rand, Presta outsole, sock fit, and water-resistant upper make the Scarpa Ribelle Run read like a dream list for rugged trail shoes. Read on to see why these Dolomite born shoes are a contender for my favorite trail shoe of the season.

Overview

Upper: Mesh & PU Film & Ripstop
Midsole: EVA
Outsole: PRESA® TRN-01 / SuperGum
Stack Height: 24.5 mm (heel) / 20.5 mm (forefoot)
Weight: 300 grams per shoe for size 10.5

What is the Scarpa Ribelle Run?

The Ribelle Run is a product of a collaboration between Marco De Gasperi and Scarpa. Marco, a six-time mountain running world champion, was brought on as brand manager for Scarpa in the Spring of 2020. His flagship project became the Scarpa Ribelle Run. A shoe he wore when he set the Sentiero Roma FKT in 7 hours 53 minutes and 41 seconds.

The Ribelle Run is designed with short to medium-distance runs over rocky terrain in mind but has obviously proven itself on longer trails. It has a welded TPU rand akin to its bigger brother, the Ribelle Boot, and a mesh and welded PU upper that continues the Ribelle run’s commitment to durability. The Sock-Fit Slip On liner and Super Gum Pressa outsole round out the package to keep you moving fast and efficiently in the mountains.

Upper

scarpa ribelle run rand — Close-up of the Ribelle Run rand

My favorite feature of the Ribelle Run should feature on every trail shoe: a welded TPU rand. The rand wraps around the shoe in its entirety, from the outsole to just above the toe cap. As the rand reaches mid-arch it rises above the midsole and goes around the heel. It provides outstanding protection against trail abrasion on the midsole, and in my opinion, helps the midsole stay firmly attached to the outsole by preventing catches on small bushes, rocks, and sharp rocks.

I’m now at least 300km into the Ribelle Run and the rand looks as good as new and it has definitely taken the amount of abuse that would thrash most other trail shoes.

The rest of the upper is made of a breathable mesh with overlays of thermally welded PU film and translucent ripstop. This is a strong material that has stood up to a lot of trail abuse. It is smooth to the touch which likely benefits its abrasion resistance because there is no abrasion. It is definitely not as breathable as an open mesh but far more breathable than a Gore-Tex liner with the benefit of being water resistant to splashes through puddles and even a light rain shower.

Sock-Fit Liner

Holding the wearer into the shoe is Scarpa’s fantastic Sock-Fit Slip On Liner. The liner is composed of a stretch fabric ankle collar with a minimal stretch “tongue” that wraps around the foot. I’ve put tongue in quotation marks as Scarpa calls it a tongue, but there is no tongue in the traditional shoe sense. The Sock Fit Liner reminds me more of a perforated neoprene booty. It breathes well, and when walking over casual terrain, it all but negates the need for laces, at least when going uphill. It does mean you won’t be sliding in and out of these shoes quickly as the collar is snug enough that you will need to give a firm pull to get the shoe on.

You’ll want to pull on the included quick lace when heading downhill as the Sock-Fit liner will not keep you from hitting the front of the shoe when gravity quickens your pace. Don’t like the quick lace? No worries, the eyelets of the Ribelle Run easily accept regular laces.

Midsole

The midsole of the Scarpa Ribelle Run is listed as dual-density EVA. There is medium density for support and low density for cushioning, With a stack height of 24.5 mm for the heel and 20.5 mm in the forefoot there is a total 4mm drop. The shoe feels natural on foot and I experienced no issues. The medium-density EVA gives a firm feel on the ground., It is not hard like a boot but is also not soft like a Hoka. 20.5mm for the forefoot is nowhere near excessive and so the ground feel is accurate but not so much that sharper rocks hurt.

There is also a Dynamic Stabilizer Torsion made of TPU. The frame wraps under the arch and extends back along both sides of the heel. The Ribelle Run has great torsional stiffness. There is a little flex to be forgiving but edging the shoes is really good, similar to that of the Scarpa Rapid.

Outsole

Scarpa makes several PResa outsoles that are designed for their various uses. The outsole featured on the Ribelle Run is the Super Gum Presa, also known as the TRN-01. This outsole is for trail running shoes that are intended to be used for trail running and for technical skyrunning.

Scarpa claims their Supergum compound has resistance 3 times higher than traditional butyl rubber while maintaining the same performance and adheres to all surfaces, wet or dry. While we don’t have the type of apparatus required to test that abrasion resistance number, we can vouch for their durability. While hiking the Bavarian Pre-Alps and the Dolomites, from Brixen to Cortina I found they performed exceptionally well on dry rock. Unfortunately, when things started to get a little damp the shoes became a little loose. With 4mm legs, these shoes are not intended to be used on mud.

For more on Presa, head on over to Scarpa.

How do the Scarpa Ribelle Run Fit?

The Scarpa Ribelle Run fits roomy for an Italian shoe. It is not a wide shoe by any means. but for an Italian shoe (notorious for being narrow) it is roomy. The 10.5 fits true to size for me.

The Sock Fit Liner is fantastic. It holds me in place when I am at a walking pace on uphills or when I wear the shoes around town. The Quicklace system keeps my toes from hitting the end on downhill.

Summary

The Scarpa Ribelle Run landed on my doorstep late in the season. Fortunately, I had one trip left to Germany and the Dolomites so I got a great chance to take them for a walk. I unboxed the shoes, packed my bags, and hoped for a lack of Blisters. Fortunately, I was right about the shoes!

The first three days of hiking were spent in the Bavarian Pre-Alps on a course on how to use ropes in hiking. There was a lot of edging and moving quickly back and forth on rock to set up guidelines for guests. The sock-fit liner kept me comfortably in place while moving around the rock and the rand took the abuse like a champ,

From Germany, I moved on to a 125km hike through the Dolomites. Forest roads and gravel trails to unmarked Via Ferrata lay before me in the next four days. The shoes moved quickly and allowed for a good ground feel but not to the detriment of my feet. The medium-density EVA provided enough relief on 20-25km days so my knees didn’t feel abused by the end and my feet were ready for action again by morning. They edged well on Via Ferrata, giving support when I needed to be on my toes or the side of the shoe.

The Ribelle Run was great on this adventure in all but the damper sections of the trail. I’d expect a shoe designed in the Dolomites, to excel on this trip, and it did.

Who are the Scarpa Ribelle Run for:

The Ribelle Run has a superbly durable upper and grips really well to dry rock. If you spend a lot of time in this type of terrain you’d be hard-pressed to find a shoe better than the Scarpa Ribelle Run.

If you are interested in checking out the Scarpa Ribelle Run, then head over to Scarpa to check them out. In Canada, check them out at Ski Uphill.

Black Sheep Adventure Sports was provided with a free sample of the Scarpa Ribelle Run. This in no way affected our opinion and review.